According to the Linux Foundation: Yes According to Google: No, not really
According to the kernel output on any android phone: yes
According to the Richard Stallman copypasta: sort of, it depends
is chromium os linux? (open source chrome os)
Yes? A kiosk version of Linux, but Linux nonetheless.
You are on this council, but we do not grant you the rank of master.
This is why “GNU/” is the important part.
Alpine users in shambles
I feel like GNU and the GPL are the best things that have happened in the tech space in a long time. I wish more people understood the significance of this and the FSF
Careful, you’re gonna make the BSD users angry. All 4 of them.
I was talking to a friend the other about about this. He said he loves the Android OS. He said imagining putting Linux on it and I couldn’t help but laugh. His eyes widened when I told him what Android really was
Genuinely curious what he had in mind. A GNOME desktop? A terminal shell?
sudo call Grandma
Grandma is not in sudoers file. This incident will be reported.
I’ve been patiently waiting for advancements in true Linux phones for years. I feel like a hypocrite when using android. Anyone know if pinephone is nearing a new release?
Android is a true Linux.
Eh, it depends how you define Linux. Android uses a modified Linux kernel, but most of what’s above that is different. By the point you’re at the application layer they’re basically completely incompatible.
Is it technically Linux? Yeah but it’s so different from a user’s perspective it’s best to treat them as separate imo.
Sounds like it is more correct to refer to it as GOOG/Linux
User land is incompatible even between traditional Linux distros and they all do kernel mods to suit their needs, so yeah, Android is as much of a Linux as Ubuntu is.
Android introduces far more incompatibilities, and the kernel mods are more impactful than the vast majority of other systems. Userspace incompatibilities are basically negligable for most distros.
It’s differences are substantial enough that I think it makes sense to treat it as a separate os.
Not true at all. Many distros like Alpine are not using GNU userland, yet you would consider them a proper Linux, right? And kernel changes in distros… Don’t even get me started. Suffice to say that no one ships vanilla for decades.
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That’s not how Linux OSes work.
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objective answer= yes but not gnu, in other words just the kernel
The way I see it is Android users are Linux users the same way fans of games who have only played the spin-off games are to people who have played the mainline games. They’re just a different kind of fan.
I like how being gay just moved from being an insult to being slaaaaaay babe
Are penguins even allowed to use any other OS?
I’ve seen a fox use Chrome, so I guess so
That was a spy
absolutely
Yes, it’s only elitists that say otherwise but we can disregard them
No. It’s technically Linux, but has none of the benefits that are suppose to come with Linux.
Which are?
I really want to know! I am using both but wouldn’t call me an expert. There is still much to learn.
Consider how dead-easy it is to write a bash script or c program in Linux, and then enable it (have it run on boot) using SystemD daemons. A total noob could do it after reading a 5 minute tutorial.
Is it even possible to do the same on an android phone? I have no idea, but willing to bet not.
Free software. Try to use apt on Android, or run software that you can use on a desktop. And no ads in every app.
Root access, that is, being admim of your own device.
Being able to access the file system and support for different types. For example Android doesn’t support NTFS and needs FAT. Plugging a simple USB drive has mixed results.
This is from the top of my head. I use both but I really don’t like how Android is locked down and so limited, even for power users. I really wish I could have a real “pocket computer” instead of this thing that feeds me ads.
Try to use apt on Android
With Termux one can
And no ads in every app.
Don’t use apps with ads then? Or set up an ad blocker.
Root access, that is, being admim of your own device.
That’s just how most Android versions are shipped. It’s still technically possible to get root access, and really enjoy every privilege of Linux. Not all devices allow using a custom OS though, sadly
and really enjoy every privilege of Linux
Like ability to install different desktop enviroment?
I have a phone with PostmarketOS installed and, besides being immature for now, the difference in possibilities are night and day.
Almost all apps store settings in easy to backup.config
folder. I can really script things using cron jobs and plain bash. Develop apps with any programming language without stupid SDK. Carry portable Minecraft of Factorio server for LAN parties. Use literally the exact same apps on both phone and desktop without ports and having their data synced. I can talk for hours.Like ability to install different desktop enviroment?
Technically, with root access, yeah. It’s just that Android’s UI isn’t a DE/WM in the desktop Linux sense
Almost all apps store settings in easy to backup
.config
folder.And same for Android app data with root access.
/data
contains, well, data of apps and the general system. Sure, it’s not the same as on desktop Linux, but it’s still possible to modify, copy, delete with root access. Every app is a different Linux user on Android, and that’s also just different from desktop Linux.To me, you’re just pointing out differences due to the software architecture of both OSes.
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Android and chromeos are as much Linux as macOS and iOS are FreeBSD
I’d be using Linux on my laptop too if Destiny 2 supported it.